Grape vines
 

Anyone any experience of how long it will take these grape bunches to fully ripen to black. You can see one or two turning dark now.
This image taken this morning. First time these vines have produced fruit, so I have no idea and am going away for a few weeks until early September.
Will these have fully ripened by then? If so how long will they stay before going rotten on the vine.
Should I remove them before I go
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...8a6d155776.jpg
Pic taken today

Re: Grape vines
 

I have grapevines in Hungary and I think some cultivars rippen earlier than others. My grapes are an old variety that are strictly used to make wine and they usually need to be harvested around mid to late October. I would just leave them on the vine and see what happens when you return in September, worst case scenario you return to raisans or the birds and insects eating them. I give mine away to a neighbour who uses them to make wine, he takes care of pruning them and harvesting them every year in exchange for a few bottles of the wine they make.

Re: Grape vines
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...40140030b7.jpg

My grape vines have been producing good eating grapes for about 18 years here in the Eastern Algarve. This year is a bad one as a result of the unusual weather and I am not expecting to harvest many for eating this month. However the birds and insects have been enjoying them for a few weeks already. As said already, it depends on the variety as well as your soil and weather conditions. Mine never ripen to black and I wonder if yours will too. Are yours suitable for wine or are they the eating variety?

Re: Grape vines
 

Thnks both......I bought the vine from Maxmat couple of years ago. Never grown grapes before so had no real idea what to expect. Last year there were just a few grapes, but I pulled them off because so few. Then cut the vine back (hard)....this year its gone nuts, There are 14 large bunches like this one on it, and its now started producing even more tiny bunches.
The labels have perished in the sun, but it is supposed to be black grapes. Soil is naff, mainly sand. The vine is in part shade (the leaves make great stuffed vine leaves Greek style.)
Yes as you can see i had to net it as the friendly Blackbirds spent all day feeding their young with grapes.,which I dont begrudge them, but of course with that comes a mess !!!
I did cut off new shoots that started to grow about a month ago, so it could concentrate on fruit rather than more leaves.
As at today I have eaten some of the black ones and they taste pretty good to me, the green ones are still a bit bitter despite looking ripe.
I had read that October is the month hence going away in September, but now not so sure. They are watered twice a day for 10 mins a time..
So guess I will just leave them and hope something edible left when i get back.

Re: Grape vines
 

Are you back yet and if so, how are the grapes doing?

Re: Grape vines
 

Hi Red
Arrived back this week and yep, the grapes have survived, despite prob too little water. Clearly 2 diff varieties, one bigger than the other, but the smaller ones are incredibly sweet, the larger ones still good but not as sweet.....God there are so many, but guess as they havent gone mouldy I can keep bunches on the vine for some time yet, now I can water them
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...0da56797a4.jpg

Re: Grape vines
 

Pity cant say same about 3 year old nectarine and peach trees......both those have lost 90% of the fruit while away, suspect lack of water again in the couple of months

Re: Grape vines
 

WellINever - your peaches and nectarines might have been attacked by the Mediterranean Fruit Fly - if you don't know of it already, look it up for treatment next year!
For your grapes, congratulations on not getting any mould !!! They look great. You could use some for juicing (keep in fridge til drunk) and you could even leave some on the vine to dry out and shrink (if they are seedless) to make your own raisins (Pasas).

Re: Grape vines
 

Those look excellent!

Do you have to treat the vines at all or is that all achieved au natural?

Re: Grape vines
 

Some varieties are indeed not prone to get the mildew and other fungi, with others it is nearly impossible to conquer! Choice of new vines to plant is very important, especially for eating-table grapes. Bordeaux mix, or copper sulphate, will help with carefully mixed doses and timings ...

Re: Grape vines
 

LOL.....Havent a clue about grape vines. Just bought it from Maxmat couple years ago. Nothing first year, thought it was dead, but watered it well in winter ??? Then about March it started to show buds, and went on from there. I cut some early bunches off cause there looked to be too many for the size of vine (only got to about 2 meters). Planted in some soil I got from a soil seller, not the best, and goes hard as rock where not watered so dont reckon its very good. No feeding apart from lots of water (I assumed that as grapes are all water they must need a lot).
Must admit to being amazed at the amount of fruit on this one small vine. I reckon I came back just in time, cause now I have picked them all some were starting to go like raisins.
So now all picked and decided to have a go at making some wine. Today mashed them up and there is about 8 ltrs of liquid, thats after destalking all of them. Now need to get some equipment, but no idea where.....any suggestions in Algarve?
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...1bf1f0186f.jpg

Re: Grape vines
 

I'm very well aware of the various ailments that can befall vines and their fruit. I had dozens, which were in a pretty sorry state when we bought our property and were nurtured back to flourishing, to the point where we had 300+ litres of wine one year.

However, a combination of climate, prevalent diseases and pests demanded regular dosing with substances more effective than Bordeax mixture, which bothered me to the point of giving up on getting fruit from them and just maintaining by pruning and feeding. They form a nice surround to my veg plot on overhead trellising, as was popular in this part of the country and in Galicia.

Anyway, I'm mighty impressed with yours - perfect bunches without any of the spraying. Congrats. I might pop in to Maxmat and see what they've got at planting time. Might be worth giving a go although I suspect it's more climate than variety that's the root of my troubles. It's frequently like a steamy bathroom up here, perfect for fungal infections.

Re: Grape vines
 

Got first mash to sg 1100, not using any yeast at all, its now dropped to 1040, stirring every day, with grapes still in mash. Gotta go down to about 1000 then that should give wine of 13.5% !!
No idea what I am doing but so far so good......hope i can keep it all free from vinegar flies, or will have loads of vinegar !!!! But no fish and chips

Re: Grape vines
 

Not sure why you think there's no Fish and Chips - because it originated in Portugal! https://docksidehhi.com/the-history-...nary%20genius. Peixe Frito is hardly uncommon and chips aren't exactly unknown either.

The longer you leave the mash, the more you risk problems - and also be aware that atmospheric changes (like thunder) can "turn" wine in hours. Some grapes are more prone than others, of course..... but that's not helpful if it's the type you have!

Re: Grape vines
 

Come, come, macliam.

You know very well that the law says fried fish must be accompanied by tomato rice. Or turnip greens rice.

With grilled fish, you may have potatoes - but only if they're boiled.

Chips are reserved for grilled meat - but you must also accept a portion of rice.